Guwahati: Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA) leader Medha Patkar on Sunday said mega dam projects, being built in the north-east and elsewhere in the country, are anti-constitutional as they are not approved by the local people.

Referring to Article 243 of the Constitution that empowers village-level bodies to formulate the Village Development Plan, she asked, "how can mega dam projects be permitted without being planned and approved at the village-level?"

Speaking at the inaugural session of a two-day national dialogue at the Gauhati University here, Ms. Patkar expressed concern "about the plight the people of Assam and the northeast have been subjected to by the policy makers through attacks and onslaughts on their livelihoods in the name of development."

Over 1000 delegates, representing about 40 grass roots organisations, are part of the dialogue organised by the Krishak Mukti Sangram Parishad and inaugurated by Vice-Chancellor of Gauhati University Amarjyoti Choudhury.

Lending her support to various people's movement against mega hydel projects in Arunachal Pradesh, Assam and other parts of the northeast, Ms. Patkar said such projects were not targeted towards the indigenous people as beneficiaries but the big companies as beneficiaries. She appealed to the people to continue their struggle through non-violence.

About Special Economic Zones, Ms. Patkar said such zones have virtually become "Special Exploitation Zones" and alleged that big companies do not guarantee jobs to those displaced.

She underlined the need for resolving the conflict between the people living in the upstream of a hydel project and those affected downstream through people-to-people dialogue and people-to-Government dialogue.

Prof. Choudhury said there was a need to analyse academically "whether we should go for large dams or small dams in the north-east."

Secretary of the Reception Committee Akhil Ranjan Dutta said national dialogue has been organised with the objective of providing a common platform to various grassroots political movements of the north-east engaged in the issues of land rights, development, dams and displacement, seismic survey and oil drilling on the Brahmaputra river bed.

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